No hiding place overseas for China’s most-wanted

Top suspect: police officers escort Li Huabo after he was repatriated from SingaporeCredit:
Chen Yehua/Xinhua

29 May 2015 • 3:45pm

Zhang Yan and Xin Dingding

China's anti-graft authorities have gone on the offensive in the fight against corrupt individuals who flee the country to avoid arrest.

A second fugitive on China's 100 most-wanted list has been returned to the country to face charges of embezzlement and abuse of power, the body charged with rooting out corruption has said.

Li Huabo, a former finance official for the government of Poyang, Jiangxi province, was returned to China earlier this month after Singapore cancelled his permanent residency permit. He had fled the country in 2011 amid allegations of embezzling 100 million yuan (£10.4 million) and abuse of power.

His return came less than a month after Dai Xuemin, a former manager of a State-owned trust and investment company in Shanghai, was captured after 14 years on the run.

Dai, 57, was detained in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, in April after recently attempting to enter the country on a foreign passport, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement.

In August 2001, Dai fled the country and headed to the United States via South Korea after an arrest warrant was issued on charges of embezzling 11 million yuan, the commission said.

Dai and Li both appeared on a list of the 100 most-wanted corrupt officials published on April 22 by Interpol. The 77 men and 23 women, most aged between 40 and 60, all face corruption charges. The list, given to Interpol by the Chinese government, included the fugitives’ photos, names, ID numbers and possible locations.

The government has adopted a zero-tolerance attitude toward capturing these corrupt officials, no matter where they hide

“Most, but not all, of the wanted people are corrupt officials — some have raised funds illegally, for example — but all 100 are accused of graft, including embezzlement, abuse of power, bribery and corruption,” Fu Kui, director of the commission’s international co-operation bureau, said.

To avoid punishment, many of the fugitives had travelled to the same destinations, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, he said.

The Ministry of Public Security said Interpol has also issued red notices, equivalent to international arrest warrants, “requesting the relevant countries to assist in extraditing the fugitives back to face trial.”

Gao Bo, a senior figure with a department researching corruption at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said a long-term lack of effective supervision had allowed a large number of government employees to abuse their power and accept bribes. When they became uneasy, he said, they transferred their ill-gotten assets overseas via illegal channels.

“Issuing such a list and asking Interpol to publish it shows that the government has adopted a zero-tolerance attitude toward capturing these corrupt officials, no matter where they are hiding,” Mr Gao said. “As long as the Chinese police can trace these people’s footprints, they will be caught, irrespective of where they are.”

Mr Fu said the move would help to “strengthen co-operation in law enforcement between China and other countries, and improve efficiency to extradite more corrupt officials and confiscate their ill-gotten funds”.

In recent years, the United States, Canada and Australia have become popular destinations for fleeing officials, who transfer millions of yuan overseas through money-laundering operations and underground banks.

The discipline commission said the publication of the list and the issuance of the notices was part of Operation Sky Net, which was launched in early April to target fugitives in foreign countries and confiscate misappropriated money and assets.

Chinese media reported that a number of suspects had made detailed preparations to flee the country, such as Yang Xianghong, a former district Communist Party chief in Zhejiang province. In September 2008, the 53-year-old led a group of government officials on a business tour of several European countries. However, Yang was absent for many of the planned activities, blaming a long standing lower-back problem. He never returned to China and is now believed to be in France.

In recent years, the United States, Canada and Australia have become popular destinations for fleeing officials

According to the Ministry of Public Security, although many fugitives were still free, some had been charged in their absence with crimes such as leaving the country illegally and laundering money overseas.

“Chinese law enforcement authorities are negotiating with their foreign counterparts to extradite suspects so they can face trial,” the ministry said.

China Central Television reported that Yang Xiuzhu, the former deputy director of construction for Zhejiang, has been identified as the number one most-wanted. In 2003, she fled to the United States, before moving to Singapore and then the Netherlands to avoid arrest. Police in the Netherlands detained Yang in 2005 after she was discovered in a cold, damp cellar in Rotterdam, and judicial authorities there have initiated extradition proceedings to return her to China, CCTV reported.

Mr Fu said the discipline commission would not place information about the fugitives in the public domain, but would share intelligence directly with authorities in other countries.

“The Interpol notices mean that people at home and abroad will have access to the information, and they may be able to give us valuable tip-offs, which will effectively reduce the number of places these corrupt officials can hide,” he said.

International co-operation

Red notices, Interpol’s highest-level alert, have been issued to 189 member countries, asking for assistance in capturing and extraditing fugitives who may be residing in their territories. A search of Interpol’s website on April 20 showed that in the past few years the organisation has issued at least 160 red notices for Chinese fugitives.

“Most of the 100 most-wanted are former officials accused of graft,” Huang Feng, a law professor at Beijing Normal University, said.

Despite issuing the notices, Interpol would not have the power to enforce them, he said. “If people are located, China will have to enter into further negotiations with the relevant country regarding arrest and extradition. In addition, those countries will adhere to their laws when deciding whether to assist China in investigations, or the arrest or extradition of fugitives.”

Mr Huang said Interpol had already named most of the people on China’s wanted list before issuing red notices, so it did not mean countries would immediately start helping China. “It may assist with investigations and locating suspects,” he added, “but only within the scope of the countries’ own laws.”

Dai Peng, director of the Criminal Investigation College at the People’s Public Security University of China, said the notices could spook the fugitives.

“When they hear about the red notices, the fugitives may attempt to escape to other countries and regions. The aim of issuing the notices is to request the assistance of all 189 member countries...in deterring such people from entering their countries,” he said, adding that the extension of judicial co-operation with other interested parties would be crucial.

Mr Fu said China would “enhance pragmatic judicial co-operation with other countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, and use every resource to apprehend and repatriate fugitives to stand trial”.

This article was originally produced and published by China Daily. View the original article at chinadaily.com.cn